Student loses part of thumb

February 1, 2011

MARIETTA - A Washington County Career Center student lost part of his thumb in an accident at the high school Monday morning as he took part in a diesel mechanics class.

Career Center Director Dennis Blatt said the student, a junior from the Frontier Local district, was standing with other students as they used a pulley to lower a motor back into its frame when the incident happened.

"It just caught the very end of his thumb and maybe an eighth of an inch of his thumb is pretty much gone," Blatt said. "It was just so heavy ... the teacher was telling them all to keep their fingers away from the equipment, and he was just a little too close. It was truly an accident."

The school's nursing instructors and a teacher who is also an EMT helped the boy until the Warren Volunteer Fire Department responded, Blatt said. The student, whose name wasn't released, was transported to Selby General Hospital.

"He's fine," said Blatt. "He was in some pain but he was doing all right and the other students were very calm. They did a nice job."

Blatt said injuries in the school's training programs are rare.

"Safety is our No. 1 concern," he said. "We feel terrible anytime someone is in some kind of accident. This was really unfortunate."